As Omicron Waxes and Wanes, Belmont Schools Adjusts Covid Standards To Meet State, CDC Changes

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Photo: The FAQ page on the Belmont Public Schools’ website

As Belmont continues to see Covid-19 positive cases reach record numbers in the past week, the Belmont School District has adjusted the best practices in its attempt to mitigate the virus’ opportunity to spread through the six public school buildings in town.

At its Tuesday, Jan. 18 meeting, the School Committee heard from Belmont Superintendent John Phelan who came with a few changes from the proposed guidelines presented the week previous after the state made changes to its priorities on keeping schools open during the recent surge in Covid cases.

“We are dedicated to keep schools open for students and in person learning. I think we weathered the first two weeks for winter break relatively well … but not past [the Omicron surge] yet,” said Phelan, who added that staff and student attendance has reached 90 percent, a marked improvement in the past fortnight.

What parents and students can do in school and at home to dampen the spread of Covid-19

But Belmont continues to show unpresidential numbers of new cases: 759 in the fortnight ending Jan. 14, a 15 percent positivity rate of those tested. In the schools, the numbers are also daunting with 127 positive Covid cases effecting both teachers and students in the six schools “community as of the week ending Jan. 19. That is down from Jan. 3 number of 229 which was the first reporting date after the winter holiday break.

With cases expecat high levels to last for the next few weeks, Phelan said the school committee should codify much of what was discussed on Jan. 11.

School Committee discussed this updated guidance and approved the following for students and staff who test positive for Covid-19:

  • Fully vaccinated students and staff may return to school on day six after a five-day isolation period, as long as they have been fever-free for 24 hours and experienced improvement in other symptoms. They must mask when around others for the five days following their isolation period, according to Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidelines. Fully vaccinated is two weeks after receiving the second dose of Moderna or the Pfizer vaccine or two weeks after the single dose of Johnson & Johnson. A booster shot is not required to be considered fully vaccinated.
  • All unvaccinated and partially vaccinated students and staff may return to school on day 11 after a 10-day isolation period. Students in K-8 will be provided tutoring due to their quarantined and or isolation status.
  • Students and staff will not be required to have a negative COVID test after their isolation period to return to classes.

One of the changes from the Jan. 11 recommendations was the committee exploring purchasing in conjunction with the town antigen tests as a screening tool for students who have tested positive after their five-day isolation period has expired. Phelan said that is likely “a moot point” as the state and federal governments are committed to providing tests to local school districts.

“So we’ll keep that motion at heart and we will continue to keep that in mind,” said Phelan, who called the initiative “great news … to have every staff and student who wants to take part to be able to take home their own test and test at home weekly.”

He also pointed to an extensive Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page sent to parents and guardians and on the district’s Covid webpage with questions ranging from what is the best way to screen children for Covid and when can students return to school.

The school committee on Jan. 11 asked its policy subcommittee to develop a vaccine mandate policy to be completed and voted on no later than June.

Hoops: Both Marauder Squads Stumble In Visit To Lexington

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Photo: Tyler Arno throwing up a three against Winchester.

It was a frustrating start to the holiday weekend for the Belmont High boys and girls basketball teams as their visits to cross border rivals Lexington on Friday, Jan. 14 as both teams came home nursing one-sided losses to the Minutemen.

Belmont High Girls’ came to the contest to halt both a scoring drought and losing streak which the Marauders averaged just 26 points vs Watertown and Woburn.

Belmont’s attempt to run its offense through the paint was hampered by a strong Lexington perimeter defense that produced several steals and Marauder miscues. While Belmont preferred to work inside, Lexington showed no such disinclination shooting from downtown, hitting nine threes while the Marauders came up blank from beyond the arc.

And it didn’t help that Belmont’s biggest bugaboo was going to the free throw line where the Marauders went 11 for 27, leaving 16 valuable points on the floor.

The game didn’t start well as the Marauders fell behind 7-0 after about 70 seconds before Sophie McDevitt buried two from the charity stripe. After cutting the lead to three, 7-4, on a Mia Ferrari, long two point jumper, Lexington scored twice off steals to finish the quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 16-6 lead entering the second. The Minutemen stretched the advantage throwing in a trio of threes in two minutes to up the lead to 28-12 midway through the frame before Belmont scored the final five points with Cortney Howell nailing a fall away two at the buzzer to end the half trailing 28-17.

Belmont came out strong in the third cutting the Minutemen’ advantage to seven points with a Ferrari jumper. But the Minutemen responded with two threes and a bucket while Belmont missed three of four free throws to restore a double digit lead, 36-21, before extending it to 44-28 entering the final quarter And while the Marauders did go 5 for 8 from the free throw line in the final quarter, Lexington was never threatened as it won by 18, 55-37.

Belmont currently sits at 3-7 over all and 3-5 in the league.

It was showtime as the Lexington boys’ literally running away from Belmont High Boys’ Hoops early to take home a rather sloppy 75-49 win in the second game of the doubleheader. Lexington’s speed, physicality on offense and defense and their touch from outside proved too much for a Marauders team that simply couldn’t keep up with the hosts.

Not that the Minutemen didn’t give Belmont opportunities to take control of the game as Lexington players, especially in the first half, were more than happy to turn the ball over in attempts at the spectacular – they had more failed dipsy-dos then the returns department at the dipsy-do factory – when a jumper or pass would have sufficed.

While Lexington’s haphazard playing allowed Belmont a sniff at getting back into the game, the Marauders’ couldn’t get out of their own way; in one sequence down by ten, Belmont committed a pair of traveling violations and an offensive foul in three trips up the court while Lexington scored on each turnover..

Belmont did come out with a hot hand from distance with Donovan Holway hitting the first basket for a three and senor guard Tyler Arno going two for three from the arc to keep the deficit to seven early in the second quarter, 18-11. But Lexington’s League MVP candidate CJ Cox was not going to be stopped by Belmont, hitting from outside (3 for 4 from three point range in the first 10 minutes) before finishing off a fast break with a dunk to stretch the host’s advantage to 18 (29-11) just two minutes into the second quarter. At half time, Belmont was down by 17, 38-21.

For the remainder of the game, Belmont could only match basket for basket only to be victimized by Lexington’s quick hands defense and downtown shooting. After three quarters, Minutemen shot 10 for 19 from three compared to Belmont’s 4 for 11.

Belmont sits at .500 both in the Middlesex League 4-4 and overall 5-5 with a visit from Wakefield next.

Checkoway Submitting Papers For Re-Election To School Committee

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Photo: Amy Checkoway

There will a familiar name on the ballot at Town Election in April as current School Committee Chair Amy Checkoway said she will be taking out nomination papers this week for re-election.

“I have decided to run for re-election to the School Committee,” said Checkoway in a Jan. 11 email. “I plan to go to Town Hall to pick up papers on Thursday or Friday of this week.”

“As you know, it has been an extremely busy, complicated, and challenging first term, and I hope that I have the opportunity to continue to help lead and serve our community,” she said in an email to the Belmontonian.

Checkoway won election to the committee in 2019 with 3,104 votes, topping the ticket with 41 percent of the ballots. The Pequossette Road resident became chair this past April after Andrea Prestwich resigned to take a position with the National Science Foundation.

An education policy researcher for a large international consulting firm, Checkoway as committee head has been a steadying influence on the board looking for committee-wide consensus on several issues including Covid mitigation and the school budget while chairing the committee during the opening of the high school wing of the Belmont Middle and High School project. She also led the committee in confronting a rash of racist messaging left at schools.

Town Sets Covid Community Testing And Vaccine/Booster Shots For Jan. 17, 18

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Photo: Belmont will hold vaccination and testing on Jan. 17, 18. (Credit: © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

With Covid infection rates in town and across the country reaching historic heights, the Belmont Health Department has scheduled a pair of events to secure the health of residents during this surge of the coronavirus.

Community Testing Day – Pre-registration and Proof of Residency is required

In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Towns of Belmont and Lexington are partnering to offer free COVID-19 PCR testing following the upcoming long weekend. There will be two upcoming testing events, and
both locations are open to residents of Belmont and Lexington. Testing is available for anyone aged 1 year or older.

  • Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Lexington Public Schools Administrative Building Gymnasium, 328 Lowell St., Lexington. The building address is 146 Maple St. but you must enter via Lowell Street (indoor testing)
     
  • Monday, Jan. 17, 2022 from 2 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
    Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington St.,(indoor testing)

Register for a COVID-19 test on Jan. 17 here: https://testing.p1uc.com/register/with-code/?code=BLADLT
Proof of residency required at appointment.

Vaccine/Booster Clinic – Pre-registration required 

The Belmont Health Department is offering COVID-19 vaccines to eligible residents, including 1st, 2nd, and booster shots. This clinic will be operated through a partnership between VaxinateRX and the Health Department, where Pfizer vaccines will be available.

Register for a vaccine appointment here: https://www.appointmentquest.com/scheduler/2180061935? schedule=belmontvaccineclinic

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Change To ‘Final, Final’ Rules Frees Up Covid Funds For Unrestricted Town Use

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Photo: The American Rescue Plan signed on March 11, 2021

It’s true: the squeaky wheel did get greased.

A last-minute reversal of state regulations which likely would have forced Belmont to hand back a substantial portion of millions of dollars in federal Covid-19 relief funding will now allow the town to spend the entire $7.6 million as it sees fit.

“As of Thursday afternoon … we were informed that the interim final rule changed yet again. I’m told this is the final, final interim final rule, which puts the town in a great position,” said Patrice Garvin, Belmont Town Administrator who with the town’s state and federal elected representatives.

After a quick word with the town auditor, “we were able to all of our money as revenue loss if we choose and we can use it as unrestricted as we’d like,” Garvin told the Select Board on Monday, Jan 10.

“We were concerned that we had to return [the 7.8 million],” said Adam Dash, select board chair. “This is phenomenal.”

While the grant does nothing to solve the massive structural deficit looming over Belmont, it will allow the town’s planners breathing room for at least the next two budget cycles as the funds will come in two $3.9 million segments with the second available next fall.

In mid-March 2021, Belmont received $8.8 million as part of the Biden Administration’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan – dubbed the American Rescue Plan Act – with $1 million going off to the schools. But as Belmont was preparing to incorporate the funds to replace revenue lost during the pandemic, it became apparent regulations imposed by the state would placed a stranglehold on the funds.

After a careful reading of the rules and regulations, the town’s auditor – Craig Peacock, a partner with Powers and Sullivan – determined that during the tight 18 month window the state is using to calculate lost revenue, the 2018 voter-approved debt exclusion used to finance the building of Belmont’s new Middle and High School, as well as the state’s partial reimbursement of expenses constructing the building was seen by Beacon Hill as a revenue “gain” for the town.

“As you remember, we had the town auditor come in and report out that … we could not find any revenue loss calculation” under the then final interim regulations, said Garvin on Monday.

While he could not give the town a financial balm, Peacock suggested a more political avenue of relief. “As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease so I don’t think it ever hurts to try to contact” state legislators, said Peacock at the time.

And that’s what Belmont did.

At the urging from the Select Board to air its consternation of the rules, Garvin sent a letter before Christmas “prompted by a lot of the town’s frustration with the final interim rule” to the town’s elected officials – State Sen. Will Brownsberger and State Rep. Dave Rogers – as well to [US Rep.] Katherine Clark, “letting her know that we are we’re in a really tough position with revenue lost calculation given the interim final rule,” said Garvin.

The result was a letter from the entire Massachusetts Congressional delegation to the US Secretary of the Treasury asking to provide relief to Belmont and a number of other small and mid-sized municipalities which found themselves in a similar predicament.

On Thursday, Jan. 6, came the good news from the state that the new change will allow any community to use up to $10 million in ARPA funds to recover revenue lost which has no bearing on each town’s final calculation.

“We will be able to take all of the money that we received from ARPA … and not have any restrictions for it,” said Garvin.

Cardboard Drop-Off Returns, Jan. 29; ‘Popular’ Mattress Recycling Program Continues

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Photo: Mattress removal is a popular service, says Belmont DPW (Credit: Rubbish computer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Did you miss the town’s last cardboard drop off before Christmas? Do you now have a pile of boxes that can be qualify as a small mountain? Is the thought of the pile of corrugated fiberboard staring at you for the next 12 months unappealing?

Well, you and your fellow on-line purchasing neighbors don’t have to fret as the Belmont Department of Public Works is hosting a post-holiday Cardboard Recycling Event at the Public Works Yard at 37 C on Saturday, Jan. 29 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

There a $5 fee to dispose all you can carry in your vehicle.

PRE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, HEAD TO THIS LINK TO PRE REGISTER

Jason Marcotte, DPW director, said he is being flooded with phone calls “pretty much asking us when are we going to have a next cardboard event.” Marcotte said last month’s drop-off on Dec. 18 was “very successful” by not only the number of vehicles but due to a new system implemented to streamline the collection process, the event did not have a traffic jam to enter the yard.

Marcotte also announced that the town has signed a five month extension of its contract with Green Mattress of Milford for curbside pick up of used mattress at $25 per item. For the past 17 months, the town was using a state grant – which will end Jan. 31 – to cover the cost of the program which Marcotte called “very popular” with residents as the town has taken away 2,282 mattresses or about 140 a month.

As of Feb. 1, the town will now cover the cost of Green Mattress to remove the items. Green Mattress recycles up to 84 percent of each mattress into sellable components. Massachusetts will ban towns from placing mattresses in state landfills as of Nov. 1, 2022.

Covid Vaccine, Booster Shots At Belmont High On Wednesday; Register Now

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Photo: Get on the bus (Credit: mass.gov)

The Belmont Health Department is offering COVID-19 vaccines, including 1st, 2nd, and booster shots at the Mass Department of Public Health’s Mobile Vaccine clinic on Wednesday Jan. 12 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Belmont High School, 221 Concord Ave.

Register here for the clinic: https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/purpleshield?calendar=8d672bef-8ff4-464c-8fa1-524b3904a1f8

Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available for all eligible ages for 1st, 2nd or booster doses.

  • Individuals 5-11 can sign up to receive their first or second dose of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine
  • Individuals 12+ can sign up to receive their 1st, 2nd, or booster* dose of the Pfizer vaccine
  • Individuals 18+ can also sign up to receive either 1st, 2nd, or booster* dose of the Moderna vaccine

Boosters are available to anyone as long as it has been more than six months since their second dose of the Moderna vaccine, five or more months since their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, or two or more months if they received the Johnson&Johnson vaccine

This clinic will be operated through a partnership between and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Mobile Vaccine Program, Belmont Public Schools and the Belmont Health Department.

Phelan: District At ‘Breaking Point’ As Covid Cases Skyrocket In Belmont Schools

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Photo: Belmont Superintendent John Phelan

A snow day this past Friday couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for the Belmont District Schools.

As the Omicron variant of the Covid coronavirus sweeps through Belmont schools after students returned from the winter recess, absentees among educators and staff has placed the district close to a breaking point whether there’s enough teachers in each building.

The numbers say it all.

In the final week of 2021, 16 Belmont students, educators and staff reported being infected with a new case of COVID-19. A week later, on Jan. 5, that tally exploded to 228 novel positive cases across the district’s six schools.

New Covid positive cases
(students, staff, teachers)
Week endingnumber
01/05/2022228
12/29/202116
12/08/20214
11/17/20216

“The impact of the staff attendance and staffing levels is a real concern of the district,” Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan told the School Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 4 as 72 and 73 staff members were out on Monday and Tuesday respectively. And while praising substitute teachers and district employees for stepping up and filling in, Phelan told the committee the current patchwork approach for cover classrooms “is not sustainable.”

On Monday, Jan. 3, a staggering 605 district students (out of a total of approximately 4,600) were not in class while Tuesday showed an improvement where 473 were out due to Covid, traveling and those waiting for results of Covid tests. The usual number out on an average week is about 275. This is occurring in a system that has impressive numbers of vaccinated students. (See chart below)

“We believe that that we haven’t seen the worst of this phase of the virus at this point in time,” said Phelan, with the next weeks seeing staff and families make some “truly hard choices” related to going to school. Friday’s snow storm was a blessing for many teachers and family as it provided an extra day away from the classroom and added a day towards a quarantine total.

Phelan and his leadership team calculated teacher attendance would hover just below 90 percent which posed significant challenges requiring the district to set up a educational “triage” system to allow school to open on the first Monday of the new year.

On Sunday, teachers and staff came to Belmont to receive take home tests while on Monday the start of schools were delayed by one hour so teachers could receive KN95 masks, “ensure that we had time for our educators to get together, our principals with teachers and other administrators to support the setting up of the school day.”

Staff, central office personnel and other non-educators were redeployed and placed in classrooms to support teachers. The district also doubled its rate for substitute teachers while proactively recruiting to ensure it has sufficient numbers to place before students arrived on Monday

But even with adults in the classroom, Phelan said certain aspects of the school day have been lost such as small group instruction and parts of the traditional school day schedule that teachers can best perform effectively.

The challenge of lunch

Phelan also pointed to student lunch time as “one of the largest challenges moving forward.” With the large tents at the elementary and Chenery schools allowing for an outside option taken down for the winter, Phelan said he is attempting to balance Covid safety with feeding students. That will require keeping masked in the cafeteria, assigned seating, shortening lunch times by sending students to recess early, keep talking to a minimum and keeping their distance.

Sports and extracurriculars will soon see restrictions on the number of who can attend contests, restrictions on using locker rooms and a greater emphasize on proper mask wearing during play. This comes after a growing number of student/athletes and at least two sporting events were cancelled due to Covid outbreaks.

Phelan has been in discussion with his fellow area superintendents on possible changes to the schedule or length of the school day for elementary, middle and high schools as a way of keeping them safe from spread while providing adequate education.

“We want to keep our options open,” Phelan told the committee. Moving forward, the district will be keeping an eagle eye on in-school transmission rates, new positive cases in the community and keep appropriate staffing levels to allow schooling to take place.

While more parents and guardians are calling for the district and committee to consider the role of remote learning during this surge, Belmont – along with school districts statewide – finds itself between a rock and a hard place. Districts are prohibited by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to return to full-time remote learning. And while DESE has established a protocol for when a school or entire district can seek permission to re-impose virtual learning, it has been done only in “a very few cases,” in the past months, said Phelan.

“{DESE) is keeping a very tight rein on [granting waivers],” he said.

Please Remember

When asked by the Belmontonian if the district has set a benchmark of when it would be prudent to close schools due to staff shortages, Phelan said there was no set percentage.

“We will assess our staffing levels daily to determine our coverage models. This looks different at each level. We need to assure that all students are engaged and properly supervised,” he said.

If a school or district simply must close due to staffing shortages, Phelan said DESE has informed districts they will need to use a “snow day” with the requirement it is made up at the end of the school year.

The district’s actions this week are at best a stop gap until the pandemic peters out which health experts said will not happen soon enough. All this is being played out as the district is facing ever “shifting guidance” from state and federal agencies on Covid safety.

Phelan told the committee the recommendations from the CDC and DPH are, at best, “inconsistent” such as the CDC requiring 10 days out of class and DESE five; no requirement for testing to return that many parents and school administrators find and DESE and CDC not on the same page on contract tracing (Belmont has abandoned it due to staffing issues).

The district will also step up its promote parents to sign up their students for pool testing, which “is more important now than ever for us to get a very clear picture through pool testing mechanism … for this upcoming year,” said Phelan.

While it has a plan in place to continue in-school education, Phelan said the new reality of variants and their impact will remain with the district when this current surge subsides.

“This is only one step in a long journey,” said Phelan.

Snow Day: Belmont Schools Closing On Friday Due To Pending Winter Storm

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Photo: Snow day in Belmont

Belmont School Superintendent John Phelan’s Thursday afternoon announcement was short and concise:

“Due to the storm, Belmont Public Schools will be closed on Friday, January 7, 2022.“

The storm is also moving the scheduled Boys’ and Girls’ away varsity basketball games up a day to Saturday, Jan. 8 vs. Woburn.

Breaking: Belmont Under Snow Emergency Parking Ban Starting 6 AM; Town Offices, Library, Beech Street Center Will Be Closed

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Photo: Ban on on-street parking and in municipal and school parking lots starts at 6 a.m.

Belmont has issued a Snow Emergency Parking Ban effective at 6 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 7 at 6 a.m. on all roadways, as well as in municipal parking lots and Belmont Public School parking lots. The ban will be in effect until further notice. 

All vehicles parked in violation of the ban will be towed at the owner’s expense. 

In addition, town offices, the Belmont Public Library and the Beech Street Center will close on Friday.